Hammer mechanism for firearms



Dec. 18, 1945. T F, HORAN 2,391,237

HAMMER MECHANISM FOR VFIRE'ARMS Filed Jan. e, 1944 Patented Dec. 18, 1945 UNETED STATES PATENT GFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to rearms and, more particularly, to the hammer and trigger mechanism for firearms. As illustrated, it is shown in connection with a firearm of the automatic or semi-automatic type such as is illustrated in my prior application, No. 354,174, led August 26, 1940, Patent No. 2,341,780.

In firearms of the automatic or semi-automatic type, the hammer is usually cocked by the rearward movement of the bolt, the hammer being arranged to be moved to cocked position by the movement of the bolt where itis caught by a sear which holds it in this position until the trigger is pulled. Devices for effecting this result, in the past, have been more or less complicated and require the utilization of a, largel number of parts. Also, as the firing pin is usually movably mounted within the bolt, there is, in certain constructions, some diiculty in securing the proper cooperating engagement between the hammer and the ring pin by a simple and inexpensive construction.

One of th'e objects of the present invention is to provide an improved firearm of the type described, having a novel form of trigger and hammer mechanism.

A further'object of the invention is to provide, in a gun of the class described. a hammer mechanism of novel construction which will be simple and economical to manufacture and at the same time be positive and eflicient in operation.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved hammer mechanism, so constructed and arranged th'at it will be moved positively against the firing pin by considerable force, in that the tension of the spring, which actuates the hammer, will be maintained throughout the greater part oi' the stroke of the hammer in contrast to prior devices wherein, at the end of the stroke of the hammer, the spring will be practically spent.

To these and other ends, the invention relates to the novel features and combination of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. l is a sectional view of a portion of a firearm embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, showing the parts in a slightly different position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view, showing the hammer in the position to which it is moved by the rearward movement of the bolt and associated parts;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view, showmoving a fresh cartridge into position in front of the bolt, it is unnecessary to show these features in detail. It will sufce to say that it is contemplated that a cartridge inserted into the magazine through the opening I3 will be moved into the cartridge chamber I 4 in the rear portion of the barrel.

'Ihe cartridge chamber I li is closed by a. breech bolt I5, this bolt being provided with a shoulder I6 designed to lock against a shoulder I'I in the upper portion of the receiver. It will be understood that the shoulders I6 and I'l are slightly beveled so as to facilitate the unlocking of the bolt when th'e gunis red.

At its rear end, the bolt is pivoted to one end of a link I8, the other end of which is pivoted to a rodlike inertia member I9 projecting into, and guided, by a tube 20 in the gun stock. Slidably mounted below the bolt and adapted to contact with th'e forward end of the inertia member I9, When the gun is closed, is a driver 2l, which driver may be actuated by the explosion gases of the gun, as explained in my prior application above referred' to, so that, when the gun is red, this driver will be propelled rearwardly against the inertia, member I9 so as to drive it rearwardly within the stock.

It may also be stated at this time that, when member I 9 is moved rearwardly, it will, by means of the link I8, first move the rear end of the bolt I5 downwardly, thus disengaging the shoulder I6 from the shoulder I1, as shown for example in Fig. 2, and thereupon a continued rearward movement of th'e member I9 will move the bolt rearwardly to a position in the receiver so that a fresh cartridge can be moved into the position in front of the bolt to be inserted in chamber M.

In an opening in the bolt I5 is slidably mounted the striker 22, having at its front end the usual ring pin 23, which striker projects from the bolt at its rear end as shown at 2d where it is provided with a downwardly turned portion to be engaged by the hammer 25.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 3, 4, and 5,

the hammer 25 is pivoted at its forward or base end at 26 between two ears 21 and 28 provided upon a supporting member 29, so that it may swing upwardly from the full-line position, shown in Fig. 4 to the dotted line position shown in that figure.

At its free end, the hammer is provided with a sear in the -formof a plunger 3l urged to protracted position by the spring 32 but retained in a recess in the hammer' by means of the engagement therewith of a pin 33 secured to the hammer and disposed in a slot 34 in the plunger. Thus the endof the sear 3| normally projects from the hammer but is retractable into its recess in the hammer against the tension of the spring 32.

Also mounted in na recess in the lowereportion of the hammer is a spring 35, the rear end of which bears against a plunger 33 provided with a recessed portion 31 in which lies a pin 33 secured to the hammer so that the plunger has a limited movement in its recess in the hammer and may project slightly therefrom at the forward end oi the hammer.

A follower 39 is pivoted at 26 on the same pivotal axis with the hammer and lies within a slot'l 40 in the end of the latter as shown in Fig. 5, this follower having a iree swinging movement about its pivot. In the lower wall ofy thereceiver is provided a rearwardly facing recess l2 in which is mounted a plunger i3 urged outwardly by the spring ed, the outer end of which plunger contacts one edge of the follower 39. The other edge of this follower is designed to contact the outer end oi the plunger 36 so as to urge this plunger inwardly and maintain the hammer spring 35 under compression. Preferably the spring i2 will be somewhat stronger than the spring so as to eiiect this result.

A trigger i5 is pivoted to the receiver at it and it lower end is held in a forward or cocked position by the trigger spring fil. Above the upper end of the trigger is an abutment d3, below which the protruding end of the sear 3i is adapted to engage when the hammer is in cocked position, as shown, for example, in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Fig. 4, and the trigger is provided at its upper end with a forwardly extending finger 5U designed to engage the extreme end of the scar 3i and move it out of engagement with the abutment i9 when the trigger is pulled. It will be seen from the position of the parts in Fig. 4, for example, that, when the parts are in cocked position as shown in the full lines in this gure, the movement of the lower end of the trigger rearwardly will cause the nger 5t to move forwardly and thus disengage the sear from the abutment. As the pivot 33 of the trigger is substantially directly below the nnger 5t, it will be seen that the initial movement imparted to this finger will be substantially horizontal, so ,that the principal movement of the iinger when the trigger is pulled will be toward the scar rather than downwardly, thus disengaging the sear from the abutment before it is moved out of engagement with the sear.

The inertia member i9 is provided with a longitudinal slot 52 to permit the hammer to swing upwardly therethrough and strike against the rear end of the striker. It will be understood that the hammer can thus be positioned directly below this rod and at the same time swing upwardly in a vertical plane and contact the rear end of the striker. Also, this provides for the hammer to be engaged by the front wall of the slot 52 when the gun is red and be moved downwardly to cocked position from the dotted-line PQ-SiOll vis cocked and ready for firing. Upon the trigger 45 being pulled, the finger 50 disengages the sear 3| from the abutment 49 and the hammer spring 35, acting against the swinging follower 39, forces the hammer upwardly about its pivot 26 to strike against the rear end 24 of the striker, as shown in the dotted-line position in Fig. 4, the hammer swinging upwardly through the slot 52. During this movement of the hammer, the plunger 38 would tend to move away from the adjacent end of the follower 39. move the follower in a clockwise direction about the pivot 26 so that this follower, in general, follows the movement of the hammer upwardly as shown in dotted lines in Fig. e, so as to maintain the plunger 3S ina position to compress the spring 35 and cause it to continue to exert pressure on the hammer throughout its stroke, wherebyr it will strike a sharp blow upon the striker. The hammer is now in the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 4 and the bolt and associated parts are in the closed positions as shown in Figs. 1 and s. e

Upon the discharge of the gun, the explosion gases will cause the driver 2i to move rearwardly, striking the forward end of the inertia member i@ and causing it to be driven rearwardly into the tube 2@ of the stock, drawing with it the bolt i5. Also, the inertia member i9, by engaging the boss 25a, will move the hammer in an anti-clockwise direction about its pivot, as shown for example in Fig. 2, until the hammer has been brought downwardly by this member to the position shown in Fig. 3. It will be remembered that this is immediately after the discharge of the gun with the upper end ofthe trigger still held in a forward position as, presumably, it has not yet been released by the operator of the gun. The sear 3i, which is beveled upon one side as shown at 3BE, will be moved past the abutment i9 and past the Ifinger 5Fl, and will engage under the latter as shown in Fig. 3. vis soon, however, as the pressure of the ringer on the trigger i5 is released, the trigger spring ol will move the upper end of the trigger rearwardly, thus releasing the plunger or sear 3i from finger 50 and causing the sear to engage below the abutment 53. This places the parts in position for a further operation, as they are now in the full-line position shown in Fig. 4.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit or the invention and Within the scopeof the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A iirearm comprising a receiver, a hammer pivoted to the receiver. a spring constructed and arranged to actuate the hammer, a movable follower against which said spring reacts to maintain it under tension during the active stroke of the hammer, and means urging said follower toward said spring.

2. A rearm comprising a receiver, a hammer pvoted to the receiver, a spring constructed and arranged to actuate the hammer, a movable follower acting on said spring to maintain it under tension during the active stroke of the hammer, and a second spring acting on said follower to However, the plunger it willY arranged to actuate the hammer, a. spring-pressedmovable follower acting on said spring to maintain it under tension during the active stroke of the hammer, said spring being mounted in a recess in the hammer,V and a plunger engaging said spring and projecting from said recess, said follower engaging thevplunger.

5. A rearm comprising a receiver, a hammer pivoted to the receiver, a spring mounted in a recess in the hammer, a movable follower against which the said spring reacts to move the hammer from cocked position, and means urging said follower toward said spring.

6. A rearm comprising a receiver, a hammer pivoted to the'receiver, a spring mounted in a recess in the hammer, a movable follower against which the said spring reacts to move the hammer from cocked position, and means urging said follower toward said spring, said follower being pivotally mounted on a. pivot coincident with that of the hammer and disposed within a recess in the hammer.

VTIMOTHY F. HORAN, 

